Where the Fish Swim
folder
Fantasy & Science Fiction › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
7
Views:
855
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Fantasy & Science Fiction › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
7
Views:
855
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Where the Fish Swim
Where the Fish Swim
Chapter 1
Hello, my name is Kiroshi Nagisara. I'm what you would call your average 18 year old boy. I’m just your everyday boy with curly brown hair and blue eyes. My body isn't anything to brag about either. Just your average 5ft 9in body that is semi-muscular with tan skin. It is not so muscular that it appears that I am concealing coconuts in my arms, but with enough mass as to say"Hey look at me! I actually get my ass up off of my sleeping mat once in a while!". Did I mention that I am average?
I live in a fairly small village called Naragami. It has dozens of shops off of the one main stretch of dirt road. In the very middle of the town is the singular school. All 35 of the village children attend there. I am in my final year there, yet I can only but wonder how a balanced high quality education will help me be a fisherman like my parents. I mean, it's not as if I wish to follow in their footsteps of the fishermen, but that is what every child does. They go to this building for educating and then immediately upon graduation they take on their family trade whether it be blacksmithing, baking, or in my case fishing. At times I can't help but wonder if there is more to life than this, but there are no other villages around. There is nothing outside town except woods and a few rivers and lakes so what else could there be to do for a living?” Harmony to each in their rightful part makes for a happy life" is constantly drilled into my brain by my parents day after day. I hate that saying.
My parents are Shin and Sakuyo Nagisara. They are both in their 50s with graying hair and wrinkles that tell how weathered their bodies are from the many fishing trips they have endured. My mom’s face is tanned from her many hours of sun and her eyes are small slits telling of many experiences and great knowledge. She is quiet and stern and yet she has always been there for me. When I cried she was there to hold me. When I needed advice she always showed me the correct path to take. She also loves my father much. She always is standing silently next to him out of respect and love. It almost appears as if she is an extension of my dad. You can almost say that she is his right hand. She may be silent and respectful, but when my mom wants something done she will spear fathers mind with her tongue and easily sway him.
My mom appears to be a bit of a hunch back due to her countless hours of standing in the river, the effect of gravity and strain, and the countless falls into the river from misplaced steps. All these elements have contributed in making her spine curved and inducing many hours of pain. She acts as if it isn’t a big deal and goes on with her life normally every day, but I have noticed the changes. Mother has begun sitting down on what she calls “quick breaks’ every hour. If she is on her feet for more that an hour, she pales in her face and begins to progressively shake and sway. She blames the current of the river on this but I can sense the pain hidden behind her experienced eyes. At night, after she walks home with my father she has always taken a soak in the hot springs. Lately I have noticed that she seems to spend more time in the springs and then, walking back with a slight limp, she retires immediately to bed instead of her usual routine of sipping sake in the town center with the other women. I personally know that she loved chatting with the other women over hot sake. Mother loved to sit for hours on end and laugh at the latest gossips and stories. She had to truly be in great pain if she were to break this routine which she loved so much. I fear that soon she will not be able to work any longer as her health is deteriorating fast. She shall soon return to the earth if her life energy keeps departing as it is now.
My father is also worn from the years. He is the authority of the family. Even though he has lost his thumb and index finger of his right hand to an infection which had been caused by a small cut, he knows how to discipline. If you have ever been wailed on your bear back with a bamboo fishing rod, then you know that you learn to follow the rules quite fast. Aside from missing fingers, he also is quite scared on his hands and feet. The scars on his hands are from the fish that decided to give a final struggle before their demise. The scars on his feet are from the occasional sharp stone in the river bed and a few crabs, whom weren’t too thrilled about having their shelters stepped on and ruined by his feet. These could have been avoided had he been wearing footwear, but he refuses. He says that in order to become in touch fully with the river, one must have no interference. This also shows how set in his ways he is. He is the reason that I have most recently been punished. He is fully for the family class systems and believes that they should be followed faithfully. As he proudly states this every night, mom silently nods in agreement.
It appears that I will be a fisherman, regardless of my thoughts and wishes. Oh joy.
END OF CHAPTER ONE
Created by Ben Schoedel
Like this? Hate it? Contact me at benschoedel@hotmail.com
Chapter 1
Hello, my name is Kiroshi Nagisara. I'm what you would call your average 18 year old boy. I’m just your everyday boy with curly brown hair and blue eyes. My body isn't anything to brag about either. Just your average 5ft 9in body that is semi-muscular with tan skin. It is not so muscular that it appears that I am concealing coconuts in my arms, but with enough mass as to say"Hey look at me! I actually get my ass up off of my sleeping mat once in a while!". Did I mention that I am average?
I live in a fairly small village called Naragami. It has dozens of shops off of the one main stretch of dirt road. In the very middle of the town is the singular school. All 35 of the village children attend there. I am in my final year there, yet I can only but wonder how a balanced high quality education will help me be a fisherman like my parents. I mean, it's not as if I wish to follow in their footsteps of the fishermen, but that is what every child does. They go to this building for educating and then immediately upon graduation they take on their family trade whether it be blacksmithing, baking, or in my case fishing. At times I can't help but wonder if there is more to life than this, but there are no other villages around. There is nothing outside town except woods and a few rivers and lakes so what else could there be to do for a living?” Harmony to each in their rightful part makes for a happy life" is constantly drilled into my brain by my parents day after day. I hate that saying.
My parents are Shin and Sakuyo Nagisara. They are both in their 50s with graying hair and wrinkles that tell how weathered their bodies are from the many fishing trips they have endured. My mom’s face is tanned from her many hours of sun and her eyes are small slits telling of many experiences and great knowledge. She is quiet and stern and yet she has always been there for me. When I cried she was there to hold me. When I needed advice she always showed me the correct path to take. She also loves my father much. She always is standing silently next to him out of respect and love. It almost appears as if she is an extension of my dad. You can almost say that she is his right hand. She may be silent and respectful, but when my mom wants something done she will spear fathers mind with her tongue and easily sway him.
My mom appears to be a bit of a hunch back due to her countless hours of standing in the river, the effect of gravity and strain, and the countless falls into the river from misplaced steps. All these elements have contributed in making her spine curved and inducing many hours of pain. She acts as if it isn’t a big deal and goes on with her life normally every day, but I have noticed the changes. Mother has begun sitting down on what she calls “quick breaks’ every hour. If she is on her feet for more that an hour, she pales in her face and begins to progressively shake and sway. She blames the current of the river on this but I can sense the pain hidden behind her experienced eyes. At night, after she walks home with my father she has always taken a soak in the hot springs. Lately I have noticed that she seems to spend more time in the springs and then, walking back with a slight limp, she retires immediately to bed instead of her usual routine of sipping sake in the town center with the other women. I personally know that she loved chatting with the other women over hot sake. Mother loved to sit for hours on end and laugh at the latest gossips and stories. She had to truly be in great pain if she were to break this routine which she loved so much. I fear that soon she will not be able to work any longer as her health is deteriorating fast. She shall soon return to the earth if her life energy keeps departing as it is now.
My father is also worn from the years. He is the authority of the family. Even though he has lost his thumb and index finger of his right hand to an infection which had been caused by a small cut, he knows how to discipline. If you have ever been wailed on your bear back with a bamboo fishing rod, then you know that you learn to follow the rules quite fast. Aside from missing fingers, he also is quite scared on his hands and feet. The scars on his hands are from the fish that decided to give a final struggle before their demise. The scars on his feet are from the occasional sharp stone in the river bed and a few crabs, whom weren’t too thrilled about having their shelters stepped on and ruined by his feet. These could have been avoided had he been wearing footwear, but he refuses. He says that in order to become in touch fully with the river, one must have no interference. This also shows how set in his ways he is. He is the reason that I have most recently been punished. He is fully for the family class systems and believes that they should be followed faithfully. As he proudly states this every night, mom silently nods in agreement.
It appears that I will be a fisherman, regardless of my thoughts and wishes. Oh joy.
END OF CHAPTER ONE
Created by Ben Schoedel
Like this? Hate it? Contact me at benschoedel@hotmail.com